Best Cordless Impact?

[Krooser]

Have Milwaukee Fuel. Last forever and work great.

How do you know they last forever?

Forever hasn't come yet...

 

[T2R9]

All my newer cordless stuff is from Lowes...

I had Milwaukee tools for years but so did my friends and kids and my stuff disappeared too often.

Now nobody steals my stuff and I like the Lowes tools.

Even though I have all Milwaukee for the garage tools, I do have a Lowes Kolbalt 80V leaf blower and weed wacker that are going on 5 years now and they are great!

 

[66/440]

I'm a corded Milwaukee man since 1972. But I don't have any battery Milwaukee tools.
My only battery tools are Kobalt 3/8, 1/2 impact and a driver. They were given to me. They are good tools and handy as can be. Plenty of power for light work. I take them on the road when I travel.
But all this talk about how a 1/2 battery impact will take off anything in the universe? Don't kid yourself.
If you have a 125 psi or more compressor, then you should have 3/4- and 1-inch pneumatic impacts. That's when you will know what bang for the buck nut busting power is.
They're the magic wands for my backhoe, dozer and motor grader.
One of my good friends tried three 1-inch battery Milwaukee impacts. They got the job done. But they cost a "lot" of money and couldn't take the abuse the air impacts do. They don't like hammering on a nut for a long period of time to get it off.
In the garage at home, I use the 1/2 air and spare the electric tools.
The battery stuff is good, but you'll pay for it in the long run. I've been using the same air wrenches for three decades.

If you are going the pneumatic route using 3/4" - 1" remember that you will need to use larger hoses from the compressor to get enough volume for the tool to develop it's full torque capacity.

 

[Big D A12]

My garage has been turned red with Milwaukee tools. Just in case the 1/2 inch drive can't get the job done (which is very rare) I have this as the "I am getting serious now" impact!

D

 

[OldIron]

If you are going the pneumatic route using 3/4" - 1" remember that you will need to use larger hoses from the compressor to get enough volume for the tool to develop it's full torque capacity.

I didn't want to gear up the whole system for more flow. So, I run the 175-psi compressor to a 7-gallon portable tank in line to the tool. Then use a short 3/4 hose to the tool. It's good for a few good hits between charges.
A few good 175 psi hits with the 1 inch do a lot of twisting.

 

[OldIron]

How do you know they last forever?

Forever hasn't come yet...

Ok, then since forever.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

My son has a bunch of Milwaukee fuel stuff. The 1/2 inch will not pull the lug nuts off my Semi so I'm buying a 3/4" impact and another battery so the inventory is abundant. I'm tired of dragging those big hoses out for the 1" pneumatic impact, and any time it is below 45°f the damn thing freezes on the 6-7 lug nut then gotta warm it up. PITA.

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

I use all Milwaukee, I have the mid torque 1/2 inch and the high torque 1/2. Some jobs require more torque

 

[Detective D]

I know this is a little older thread, but the impact game has changed in the last year with the invention of the mega buster guns that do 1000+ ft/lbs.
Just so people understand, that mechanism(the nose of the gun, where the socket goes) is basically the same unit on every brand. The handle and battery and trigger may be different, but the business part is identical.

I have Ryobi, and bought their version. Mostly because Ryobi is the only one that kept the same battery interface for the last 20 years. And the original; 1+ stuff from back then might be the best cordless tools ever built(the dark blue color ones) as I still use mine to this day, original ni-cad batteries LONG gone, but Ryobi was smart enough to maintain 18V and made lithium to plug right in, and now you can get bigger batteries and still plug right in.
I will say, a lot of the neon green stuff in the last ten years is iffy. You need to go to the store and handle them and see if they are worth it. The mega buster is mostly identical to other color tools anyway, so I found it to be just fine build quality wise.

Anyway, I snapped a ten year old lithium battery in my new Ryobi mega buster and it took the hub nut off my 4x4 Dakota like it wasn't even tightened.
Air powered stuff has been antiquated, and the 400-500ft/lb cordless stuff has been made obsolete now too.

Oh, and I am not sure if other brands have this feature but on "forward" (tighten) If you leave the selector on auto it will automatically stop when it senses resistance. Meaning you can;t over tighten anything unless you want to. Pretty dang nice for lug nuts, buzz them right back on and then I hand tighten them after. Huge time saver.

 

[kiwigtx]

I have been a Makita guy for about 25 years now. Progressed into the 18 Volt range back in 2006. I love them although I feel the 1/2" impact gun lacks the torque of the Milwaukee.

If I had my time again, I would still go with Makita as the brand has a good rep here and the service turnaround if something fails is pretty fast.

Milwaulkee on the other hand has a Return for repair policy and don't have loaner tools. They don't care if you only have one drill and you need it.
Also the Reps here are more concerned about their social media profiles, the product in their hair and the flashy Ute's they cruise the streets in more than the actual backing up of the product.

Ryobi over here in New Zealand might be different stuff to USA product - it is considered a toy compared to Makita and Milwaukee...and is reserved for the weekend DIY warriors who by day are Accountants and Lawyers....and other pen-pushing vocations. DeWalt also comes close to that category, been that it was a Black & Decker off-shoot - which incidentally had a less than favourable reputation here.

Oh, and as I have seen even with the Makita range - the more it costs, the better the quality. All my more expensive tools are made in Japan, not China or Mexico.

 

[Detective D]

I have been a Makita guy for about 25 years now. Progressed into the 18 Volt range back in 2006. I love them although I feel the 1/2" impact gun lacks the torque of the Milwaukee.

If I had my time again, I would still go with Makita as the brand has a good rep here and the service turnaround if something fails is pretty fast.

Milwaulkee on the other hand has a Return for repair policy and don't have loaner tools. They don't care if you only have one drill and you need it.
Also the Reps here are more concerned about their social media profiles, the product in their hair and the flashy Ute's they cruise the streets in more than the actual backing up of the product.

Ryobi over here in New Zealand might be different stuff to USA product - it is considered a toy compared to Makita and Milwaukee...and is reserved for the weekend DIY warriors who by day are Accountants and Lawyers....and other pen-pushing vocations. DeWalt also comes close to that category, been that it was a Black & Decker off-shoot - which incidentally had a less than favourable reputation here.

Oh, and as I have seen even with the Makita range - the more it costs, the better the quality. All my more expensive tools are made in Japan, not China or Mexico.

Haha, Ryobi does make some laughable crap for some of there stuff. Pretty sure a lot of it is global sourced and built to price point. So some of their items get sourced from high end things because that is what is available, and some stuff they get more options and sometimes pick some real dandy stuff lol. I ought the 1+ caulk gun. Severely mediocre! But I don;t need it often. Should have guessed when it had a $38 price tag lol.

I always liked Makita, but in the states they have been in constant flux between super nice quality, and not worth it at all junky. Back and forth. I think here in the states they make some good stuff, get some rep built up, and then cash in and sell some junk for a couple years and repeat. I have a puny little 3/8 chuck 110V corded drill. From the 90's. Toughest little SOB for it's size I have ever used. I also have a 5/8" chuck 110v corded hammer drill you can shut the hammer part off of, 5.5amp. Early 2000's. Makes funny noises from the motor since a year after I bought it. Only use it for hammer part, afraid it will break if I use it too much. Recently Makita makes top notch cordless stuff again.

In the states, any company reputation from pre-year 2000 is meaningless. Globalized sourcing means they all went a different path. Pre-2000, Dewalt was a solid brand. In the 1990's, Black and decker couldn't recover from the late 80's quality debacle that earned them(rightfully) a horrible reputation. SO they split their product line, B&D went to Walmart and Dewalt got a new yellow paint job and was built well. 1970's Black and Decker was bullit proof indestructible stuff. We had a 1/2" drill on the farm my Dad used to have my older brother push on an 8' 2x4 as a lever to use it to drill through steel plate. I still have that drill. bearings are bad lol, but I keep it for memory sake. I have the puke green color jig saw too. It will never die.

So yeah, now days you have to look at reviews and go to the store and see build quality first hand. Brands mean nothing anymore compared to 40 years ago.

 

[kiwigtx]

Haha, Ryobi does make some laughable crap for some of there stuff. Pretty sure a lot of it is global sourced and built to price point. So some of their items get sourced from high end things because that is what is available, and some stuff they get more options and sometimes pick some real dandy stuff lol. I ought the 1+ caulk gun. Severely mediocre! But I don;t need it often. Should have guessed when it had a $38 price tag lol.

I always liked Makita, but in the states they have been in constant flux between super nice quality, and not worth it at all junky. Back and forth. I think here in the states they make some good stuff, get some rep built up, and then cash in and sell some junk for a couple years and repeat. I have a puny little 3/8 chuck 110V corded drill. From the 90's. Toughest little SOB for it's size I have ever used. I also have a 5/8" chuck 110v corded hammer drill you can shut the hammer part off of, 5.5amp. Early 2000's. Makes funny noises from the motor since a year after I bought it. Only use it for hammer part, afraid it will break if I use it too much. Recently Makita makes top notch cordless stuff again.

In the states, any company reputation from pre-year 2000 is meaningless. Globalized sourcing means they all went a different path. Pre-2000, Dewalt was a solid brand. In the 1990's, Black and decker couldn't recover from the late 80's quality debacle that earned them(rightfully) a horrible reputation. SO they split their product line, B&D went to Walmart and Dewalt got a new yellow paint job and was built well. 1970's Black and Decker was bullit proof indestructible stuff. We had a 1/2" drill on the farm my Dad used to have my older brother push on an 8' 2x4 as a lever to use it to drill through steel plate. I still have that drill. bearings are bad lol, but I keep it for memory sake. I have the puke green color jig saw too. It will never die.

So yeah, now days you have to look at reviews and go to the store and see build quality first hand. Brands mean nothing anymore compared to 40 years ago.

Thanks for your honesty and a great reply.

One more thing I meant to mention when using all these high-powered Impact guns.

Make sure you use Impact rated sockets. Regular sockets can and will fly apart with little to no warning.

 

[toolmanmike]

It was always a power game on the tool truck. I sold Mac branded (made by Dewalt to our specs) and the Dewalt accessory tools. Very few issues.

 

[toolmanmike]

I has a guy at a John Deere dealer try a Mac 1/2" drive impact into the shop. He pulled 2 wherl nuts off a combine and worked hard at getting the third one loose. I told him I would sell him one but no warranty if he uses it like that.

 

[PROSTOCKTOM]

This thread is almost as bad as, "Which cam should I use"

I have the medium size DeWalt 20v Max Brushless and love it.

Tom

 

[dspur]

I know this is a little older thread, but the impact game has changed in the last year with the invention of the mega buster guns that do 1000+ ft/lbs.
Just so people understand, that mechanism(the nose of the gun, where the socket goes) is basically the same unit on every brand. The handle and battery and trigger may be different, but the business part is identical.

I have Ryobi, and bought their version. Mostly because Ryobi is the only one that kept the same battery interface for the last 20 years. And the original; 1+ stuff from back then might be the best cordless tools ever built(the dark blue color ones) as I still use mine to this day, original ni-cad batteries LONG gone, but Ryobi was smart enough to maintain 18V and made lithium to plug right in, and now you can get bigger batteries and still plug right in.
I will say, a lot of the neon green stuff in the last ten years is iffy. You need to go to the store and handle them and see if they are worth it. The mega buster is mostly identical to other color tools anyway, so I found it to be just fine build quality wise.

Anyway, I snapped a ten year old lithium battery in my new Ryobi mega buster and it took the hub nut off my 4x4 Dakota like it wasn't even tightened.
Air powered stuff has been antiquated, and the 400-500ft/lb cordless stuff has been made obsolete now too.

Oh, and I am not sure if other brands have this feature but on "forward" (tighten) If you leave the selector on auto it will automatically stop when it senses resistance. Meaning you can;t over tighten anything unless you want to. Pretty dang nice for lug nuts, buzz them right back on and then I hand tighten them after. Huge time saver.

I have a large number o Ryobi as well, including many of the "blue" ones, and I continue to use them for the same reasons, batteries have not changed. I have a 1/4 impact that I have used for lag bolts and other things in my shop and around the house. I recently purchased a 1/2" impact and only used it once. It would not loosed a stuck on bolt on the suspension of an old corvette I have, but then again I had to get a long 1/2" breaker bar to do the job. Probably not Milwaukee quality, but it should do the job when needed, unless it is an especially tough situation.

 

[demonram]

Milwaukee, Ryobi and Ridgid are all made by the same company. I had guys using Milwaukee back home. When something happened, most of the time, they were told it was abuse or lack of maintenance. What is lack of maintenance, when it comes to a tool that if you take it apart, you void the warranty? Ryobi is the handyman tool of the company. I will say, they do have a lot of tool selection for the homeowner. I’ve bought a few for the yard work, the battery failure is the biggest problem. They do have a 3 year warranty, they’ve replaced 4, not a good record. I started buying Ridgid about 12 years ago. I now have, probably 30. If you register them, they have a lifetime warranty. I’ve had 3 issues, 2 reciprocal saws and 1 oscillating multi tool. No problem with repair, except the wait factor, but that’s with any of them. I have 18 batteries, 1 has gone bad in 12 years. The older ones don’t hold a charge like they used too, but still work. I use those around the house. I ride my tools hard and put them up wet. I’ve bought them all and have plug ins that my dad and grandpa had, that still work. They are for nostalgia, mostly but, if I bring out that big 60 year old 1/2” Black&Decker aluminum housed drill my dad had. That son of a buck will snap your wrist, if you’re not careful. About 800 RPM, but the torque is amazing.

 

[j-c-c-62]

I bought a pre Fuel 18V Milwaukee big impact over a dozen years ago. I was unimpressed with its power, battery life, weight, and cost. I stopped using it. I am sure its current replacement is much improved today, but burnt once as they say.
I have used an 18V small 1/2 Dewalt Impact in recent years, got a converter to Li 20V, it is cute and useful for light jobs, and the big Dewalt 1/2" impact just reminds me of the Milwaukee all over again. I'm going to try the new 20V midrange Dewalt impact next, not too big, not too small, just about right.

 

[Detective D]

I have a large number o Ryobi as well, including many of the "blue" ones, and I continue to use them for the same reasons, batteries have not changed. I have a 1/4 impact that I have used for lag bolts and other things in my shop and around the house. I recently purchased a 1/2" impact and only used it once. It would not loosed a stuck on bolt on the suspension of an old corvette I have, but then again I had to get a long 1/2" breaker bar to do the job. Probably not Milwaukee quality, but it should do the job when needed, unless it is an especially tough situation.

The newest series of impact has 1100 ft/lbs. They went to a brushless motor and high RPM/impact count. The thing is amazing, and all the brands are using the same mechanism, at least for now. The housing, trigger, and likely motors are different, but the nose piece is the same on them.
I was never interested in cordless impact prior to this and used my air powered one that has like 600 ft lbs. There is no contest between my air powered tool and this new one. Plus no hose to deal with.

I did have a 550 ft lb 110V electric impact, that one had some snot to it for it's rating. I gave it to my father in law some time back and he liked it so much I let him keep it.

 

[Detective D]

I bought a pre Fuel 18V Milwaukee big impact over a dozen years ago. I was unimpressed with its power, battery life, weight, and cost. I stopped using it. I am sure its current replacement is much improved today, but burnt once as they say.
I have used an 18V small 1/2 Dewalt Impact in recent years, got a converter to Li 20V, it is cute and useful for light jobs, and the big Dewalt 1/2" impact just reminds me of the Milwaukee all over again. I'm going to try the new 20V midrange Dewalt impact next, not too big, not too small, just about right.

Check the ft lbs. The older series stop around 500-600. The newest stuff is in excess of 1000 and is on a totally new level, no comparison. Don't spend twice! Pony up for the new big boys.